The Kindness of Strangers

This morning, I took my son into PetSmart to look at the cats and birds. PetSmart is currently selling their holiday stuffed animal, a dog named Chance. 10% of the proceeds go to homeless animals. At some point this morning, a woman purchased Chance and said to give him to a child in the store. The cashier picked my son. To both this woman and the cashier, I say, "Thank you." My son loves the toy, and hopefully I will find a way to pay your kindness forward.

A Florida Christmas Parade

Small Child and I had the pleasure of attending the Christmas parade in lovely Ft. Pierce, FL this past weekend. It was filled with everything you'd expect in a small town parade - Shriners, the 4-H club, dance teams. And then a few things you might not expect.

Here's McGruff the crime dog.


And then on the back of the McGruff float...the crime manatee?


Following that float (boat?) we have...um...McGruff. Again. This one wasn't lucky enough to ride on a float.


Next, we have Rudolph the 4-H horse.


And a bunch of little tiny painted horses. Seriously, there were like a hundred of them. But aren't they cute?


Small Child with his glow bracelet on one hand and a silly band shaped like a bank on the other. He loves those things.


Santa manatee


And the real Santa


And what Christmas parade would be complete without loot? Candy canes, life savers, and oranges.